Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today applauded the efforts of opponents of drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), who won a major victory when Republicans were forced to pull the ANWR bill, a day after they postponed a vote on the bill several times in order to drum up support.

In previous years, House Republicans have sought to approve oil drilling in ANWR at the behest of the energy industry and over the outcries of Democrats and environmental groups alike.  But thanks to Senate Democrats, who have consistently managed to kill the initiative through a filibuster threat, oil drilling has never been approved in the pristine Alaskan wilderness lands. But this year, under heavy pressure from House Democrats and with the support of key Republican votes, the Republican leadership was not even able to gather enough support to bring the vote to the House floor without risking major embarrassment.

“I’m glad that the House Republican Leadership’s effort to destroy ANWR was defeated,” said Lee. “Even if we drained every drop of oil out of the wilderness, it would be consumed within 6 months.  And then what? We go somewhere else and drill?  That’s hardly the answer.”

“We should be supporting alternative solutions to reform our energy policy in its entirety so that we reduce our dependence on oil and natural gas,” said Lee.  “The Arctic refuge is a fragile ecosystem.  If we allow drilling to spoil this natural environment, we can never go back and make it whole.”

 

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